U.S. patent application number 15/375379 was filed with the patent office on 2017-07-06 for electrical connector.
The applicant listed for this patent is LOTES CO., LTD. Invention is credited to You Hua Cai.
Application Number | 20170194729 15/375379 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56661819 |
Filed Date | 2017-07-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170194729 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cai; You Hua |
July 6, 2017 |
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
Abstract
An electrical connector includes an insulating body having at
least one terminal slot, and at least one terminal received in the
terminal slot. The terminal slot is provided with a first inner
wall and a second inner wall. The terminal has a fixing portion.
The fixing portion is sequentially provided with a bonding section
and a thinned section. A thickness of the thinned section is
smaller than that of the bonding section. The bonding section forms
interference fit with the second inner wall. The thinned section
forms interference fit with the first inner wall, and extends to
the second inner wall. In a direction perpendicular to the second
inner wall, a gap exists between the thinned section and the second
inner wall.
Inventors: |
Cai; You Hua; (Keelung,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LOTES CO., LTD |
keelung |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
56661819 |
Appl. No.: |
15/375379 |
Filed: |
December 12, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R 12/721 20130101;
H01R 12/707 20130101; H01R 13/6335 20130101; H01R 13/26 20130101;
H01R 13/41 20130101; H01R 13/62966 20130101; H01R 13/428 20130101;
H01R 12/737 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01R 12/72 20060101
H01R012/72; H01R 12/70 20060101 H01R012/70; H01R 13/633 20060101
H01R013/633; H01R 13/428 20060101 H01R013/428; H01R 13/629 20060101
H01R013/629; H01R 12/73 20060101 H01R012/73; H01R 13/26 20060101
H01R013/26 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 31, 2015 |
CN |
201521121747.9 |
Claims
1. An electrical connector, comprising: an insulating body having
at least one terminal slot, the terminal slot having a first inner
wall and a second inner wall; and at least one terminal received in
the terminal slot, wherein the terminal has a fixing portion, the
fixing portion is sequentially provided with a bonding section and
a thinned section, a thickness of the thinned section is smaller
than that of the bonding section, the bonding section forms
interference fit with the second inner wall, the thinned section
forms interference fit with the first inner wall, and extends to
the second inner wall, and in a direction perpendicular to the
second inner wall, a gap exists between the thinned section and the
second inner wall.
2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the fixing portion
has two relatively parallel plate surfaces, and the thinned section
is formed by thinning from one plate surface to the other plate
surface.
3. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the bonding section
and the thinned section are arranged on each of two sides of the
fixing portion respectively, a retaining slot is formed in each of
two sides of the terminal slot in a recessed manner, and each
retaining slot is provided with the first inner wall and the second
inner wall.
4. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein outer side edges of
the thinned section and the bonding section on the same side of the
fixing portion are arranged to be flush.
5. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the insulating body
is provided with a plurality of terminal slots arranged in a row,
the at least one terminal comprises a plurality of terminals, and
the plurality of terminals are correspondingly received in the
terminal slots, and the thinned sections of every two adjacent
terminals are arranged in a staggered way.
6. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein a contact portion
is formed by extending upward from an upper end of the fixing
portion, a soldering portion is formed by extending downward from a
lower end of the fixing portion, the thinned section is positioned
above the bonding section, and the bonding section is closer to the
soldering portion than the thinned section.
7. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein a contact portion
is formed by extending upward from an upper end of the fixing
portion, a soldering portion is formed by extending downward from a
lower end of the fixing portion, the thinned section is positioned
below the bonding section, and the thinned section is closer to the
soldering portion than the bonding section.
8. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the first inner
wall and the second inner wall are both planes, and are connected
into a stair-step shape through a chamfer.
9. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein each of a length of
the bonding section and a length of interference fit between the
thinned section and the first inner wall is 1/2 of a length of the
thinned section.
10. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the fixing portion
has two relatively parallel plate surfaces, and the thinned section
is formed by face-to-face thinning from the two plate surfaces.
11. The electrical connector of claim 10, wherein the bonding
section and the thinned section are arranged on each of two sides
of the fixing portion, a retaining slot is formed in each of two
sides of the terminal slot in a recessed manner, and each retaining
slot is provided with the first inner wall and second inner wall
corresponding to each plate surface.
12. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the at least one
terminal includes a plurality of terminals and the at least one
terminal slot includes a plurality of terminal slots, the
insulating body is provided with a slot configured to insert an
electronic card, the terminal slots are formed on two sides of the
slot to correspondingly receive the terminals, the insulating body
is provided with an assembling portion on at least one end of the
slot, and the assembling portion is pivoted to an ejector.
13. The electrical connector of claim 12, wherein a distance
between every two adjacent terminals is 0.75 mm.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This non-provisional application claims priority to and
benefit of, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(a), Patent Application No.
201521121747.9 filed in P.R. China on Dec. 31, 2015, the entire
content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to an electrical connector,
and more particularly to a card edge connector configured to insert
an electronic card.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A known electrical connector includes an insulating body and
multiple terminals arranged on the insulating body. The insulating
body is provided with multiple terminal slots which are arranged in
a row, and a fence is arranged between every two adjacent terminal
slots. The multiple terminals are correspondingly received in the
multiple terminal slots. Each terminal has a fixing portion, and a
contact portion and a soldering portion formed by extending from
two ends of the fixing portion. One or more protruding portions are
outward protruded from two side edges of the fixing portion
respectively. When the terminals are inserted into the terminal
slots, protruding portions of adjacent terminals form interference
fit with slot walls of the terminal slots (i.e. sidewalls of the
fences), and the terminals are retained on the insulating body by
the terminals through the protruding portions.
[0004] Under a miniaturization development trend of electrical
connectors, the number of the terminals of the electrical connector
continuously increases, and the terminals are also arranged more
and more densely. The one or more protruding portions are outward
protruded from the two side edges of the fixing portion
respectively, so that thicknesses of interference fit portions of
the terminals and the terminal slots are increased, wall
thicknesses of the fences are gradually reduced, and strength of
the fences is weakened. Moreover, the protruding portions of the
adjacent terminals have relative acting force on the fences, so
that the fences are likely to be damaged in a process of inserting
the terminals into the insulating body.
[0005] Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art
to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In one aspect, the present invention is intended to provide
an electrical connector capable of reducing a thickness of a fixing
portion in interference fit with an insulating body, strengthening
retaining force between terminals and the insulating body, and
reducing external force required by insertion of the terminals into
terminal slots.
[0007] In certain embodiments, an electrical connector includes an
insulating body and at least one terminal disposed in the
insulating body. The insulating body is provided with at least one
terminal slot. The terminal slot has a first inner wall and a
second inner wall. The terminal has a fixing portion. The fixing
portion is sequentially provided with a bonding section and a
thinned section. A thickness of the thinned section is smaller than
that of the bonding section. The bonding section forms interference
fit with the second inner wall. The thinned section forms
interference fit with the first inner wall, and extends to the
second inner wall. In a direction perpendicular to the second inner
wall, a gap exists between the thinned section and the second inner
wall.
[0008] In certain embodiments, the fixing portion is provided with
two relatively parallel plate surfaces, and the thinned section is
formed by thinning from one plate surface toward the other plate
surface.
[0009] In certain embodiments, the bonding section and the thinned
section are arranged on two sides of the fixing portion
respectively. A retaining slot is formed in each of two sides of
the terminal slot in a recessed manner, and each retaining slot is
provided with the first inner wall and the second inner wall.
[0010] In certain embodiments, outer side edges of the thinned
section and the bonding section on the same side of the fixing
portion are arranged to be flush.
[0011] In certain embodiments, the insulating body is provided with
multiple terminal slots which are arranged in a row, there are
multiple terminals correspondingly arranged in the multiple
terminal slots, and the thinned sections of every two adjacent
terminals are staggered.
[0012] In certain embodiments, a contact portion is formed by
upward extension from an upper end of the fixing portion, a
soldering portion is formed by downward extension from a lower end
of the fixing portion, the thinned section is positioned above the
bonding section, and the bonding section is closer to the soldering
portion than the thinned section.
[0013] In certain embodiments, a contact portion is formed by
upward extension from an upper end of the fixing portion, a
soldering portion is formed by downward extension from a lower end
of the fixing portion, the thinned section is positioned below the
bonding section, and the thinned section is closer to the soldering
portion than the bonding section.
[0014] In certain embodiments, the first inner wall and the second
inner wall are both planes, and are connected into a stair-step
shape through a chamfer.
[0015] In certain embodiments, each of a length of the bonding
section and a length of interference fit between the thinned
section and the first inner wall is 1/2 of a length of the thinned
section.
[0016] In certain embodiments, the fixing portion is provided with
two relatively parallel plate surfaces, and the thinned section is
formed by face-to-face thinning from the two plate surfaces.
[0017] In certain embodiments, the bonding section and the thinned
section are arranged on two sides of the fixing portion
respectively, a retaining slot is formed in each of the two sides
of the terminal slot in a recessed manner, and each retaining slot
is provided with the first inner wall and the second inner wall
corresponding to each plate surface.
[0018] In certain embodiments, there are multiple terminals, the
insulating body is provided with a slot configured to insert an
electronic card, multiple terminal slots are arranged on two sides
of the slot to correspondingly accommodate the multiple terminals,
the insulating body is provided with an assembling portion on at
least one end of the slot, and the assembling portion is pivoted to
an ejector.
[0019] In certain embodiments, a distance between every two
adjacent terminals is 0.75 millimeter (mm).
[0020] Compared with the related art, in certain embodiments of the
present invention, the fixing portion is sequentially provided with
the bonding section and the thinned section, and the thickness of
the thinned section is smaller than that of the bonding section,
that is, the thinned section is formed by performing thinning
processing on the basis of an original thickness of the fixing
portion, so that no additional retaining structure is required to
be added to the fixing portion to increase the thickness thereof.
In addition, the bonding section forms interference fit with the
second inner wall, and the thinned section forms interference fit
with the first inner wall, so that the fixing portion and the
terminal slot form interference fit at two positions, and retaining
force between the terminal and the insulating body can be
strengthened. Moreover, the thinned section extends to the second
inner wall, and in the direction perpendicular to the second inner
wall, the gap exists between the thinned section and the second
inner wall, so that interference fit between the fixing portion of
the whole length and the terminal slot can be avoided, and external
force required by insertion of the terminal into the terminal slot
can be reduced.
[0021] These and other aspects of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment
taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although
variations and modifications therein may be effected without
departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the
disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments
of the invention and together with the written description, serve
to explain the principles of the invention. Wherever possible, the
same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to
the same or like elements of an embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional exploded view of an
electrical connector according to a first embodiment of the present
invention.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional part sectioned view of FIG.
1.
[0025] FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional assembled view of FIG. 2.
[0027] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a part intercepted along line
A-A shown in FIG. 4.
[0028] FIG. 6 is a schematic partial three-dimensional exploded
view of an electrical connector according to a second embodiment of
the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 7 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a terminal
in an electrical connector according to a third embodiment of the
present invention.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a terminal
in an electrical connector according to a fourth embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] The present invention is more particularly described in the
following examples that are intended as illustrative only since
numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to
those skilled in the art. Various embodiments of the invention are
now described in detail. Referring to the drawings, like numbers
indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the
description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the
meaning of "a", "an", and "the" includes plural reference unless
the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the
description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the
meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on" unless the context clearly
dictates otherwise. Moreover, titles or subtitles may be used in
the specification for the convenience of a reader, which shall have
no influence on the scope of the present invention.
[0032] It will be understood that when an element is referred to as
being "on" another element, it can be directly on the other element
or intervening elements may be present therebetween. In contrast,
when an element is referred to as being "directly on" another
element, there are no intervening elements present. As used herein,
the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more
of the associated listed items.
[0033] Furthermore, relative terms, such as "lower" or "bottom" and
"upper" or "top," may be used herein to describe one element's
relationship to another element as illustrated in the Figures. It
will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass
different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation
depicted in the Figures. For example, if the device in one of the
figures is turned over, elements described as being on the "lower"
side of other elements would then be oriented on "upper" sides of
the other elements. The exemplary term "lower", can therefore,
encompasses both an orientation of "lower" and "upper," depending
of the particular orientation of the figure. Similarly, if the
device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as
"below" or "beneath" other elements would then be oriented "above"
the other elements. The exemplary terms "below" or "beneath" can,
therefore, encompass both an orientation of above and below.
[0034] As used herein, "around", "about" or "approximately" shall
generally mean within 20 percent, preferably within 10 percent, and
more preferably within 5 percent of a given value or range.
Numerical quantities given herein are approximate, meaning that the
term "around", "about" or "approximately" can be inferred if not
expressly stated.
[0035] As used herein, the terms "comprising", "including",
"carrying", "having", "containing", "involving", and the like are
to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not
limited to.
[0036] The description will be made as to the embodiments of the
present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in
FIGS. 1-8. In accordance with the purposes of this invention, as
embodied and broadly described herein, this invention, in one
aspect, relates to an electrical connector.
[0037] Referring to FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of an electrical
connector 100 according to the present invention is shown, and the
electrical connector 100 is configured to connect an electronic
card (not shown) and a circuit board (not shown). The electrical
connector 100 includes an insulating body 10, multiple terminals 20
arranged on the insulating body 10, and two ejectors 30 pivoted to
the insulating body 10.
[0038] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the insulating body 10 is
provided with a mating surface 101 and a mounting surface 102
opposite to the mating surface 101, where the mating surface 101 is
a top surface of the insulating body 10, and the mounting surface
102 is a bottom surface of the insulating body 10. The insulating
body 10 is provided with a slot 11 formed by downward recession
from the mating surface 101, and the slot 11 is configured for the
electronic card to be inserted therein. The insulating body 10 has
two sidewalls 12 positioned on two sides of the slot 11. Each
sidewall 12 has an outer wall surface 121. Multiple terminal slots
13 are arranged in a row on each sidewall 12. The terminal slots 13
are communicated with the slot 11.
[0039] Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a retaining slot 14 is
formed in each of two sides of each terminal slot 13 The retaining
slots 14 are adjacent to the mounting surface 102. Each retaining
slot 14 is provided with a first inner wall 15 and a second inner
wall 16. The first inner walls 15 and the second inner walls 16 are
mutually parallel planes, and are arranged in parallel with the
outer wall surfaces 121 respectively. The first inner walls 15 are
arranged farther away from the slot 11 than the second inner walls
16. Meanwhile, the first inner walls 15 are arranged farther away
from the mounting surface 102 than the second inner walls 16. Each
first inner wall 15 is connected with the corresponding second
inner wall 16 through a chamfer 17. The first inner walls 15, the
chamfers 17 and the second inner walls 16 are sequentially
connected end to end to form a stair-step shape.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 1, the insulating body 10 is also provided
with assembling portions 18 at each of two ends of the slot 11.
Each assembling portion 18 is pivoted to the corresponding ejector
30, and the ejectors 30 can rotate relative to the insulating body
10 to lock and release the electronic card (not shown). In other
embodiments, the electrical connector 100 may also be provided with
only one ejector 30 pivoted to the insulating body 10.
[0041] Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the multiple terminals 20
are continuous terminals formed by stamping and bending a metal
strip (not shown). The terminals 20 are inserted into the terminal
slots 13 in a direction from the mounting surface 102 to the mating
surface 101. That is, the terminals 20 are assembled and fixed in
the terminal slots 13 from bottom to top, and a distance between
every two adjacent terminals 20 is about 0.75 mm. Each terminal 20
includes a fixing portion 21, a contact portion 22 bending and
extending upward from an upper end of the fixing portion 21, and a
soldering portion 23 bending and extending downward from a lower
end of the fixing portion 21. Each contact portion 22 partially
protrudes and extends into the slot 11 to contact with the
electronic card (not shown), and each soldering portion 23 is
exposed from the mounting surface 102 to be soldered with the
circuit board (not shown).
[0042] Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, each fixing portion 21 has
two relatively parallel plate surfaces 211, and the two plate
surfaces 211 define a first thickness T1. A bonding section 212 and
a thinned section 214 are sequentially arranged on each of two
sides of each fixing portion 21. Outer side edges of the thinned
section 213 and the bonding section 212 on the same side of each
fixing portion 21 are arranged to be flush. The outer side edges
are the lateral surface of the fixing portion 21, that is, the
cutting surface formed by cutting the corresponding terminal 20
from the metal strip (not shown). Each thinned section 213 is
positioned above the corresponding bonding section 212, and each
bonding section 212 is closer to the corresponding soldering
portion 23 than the corresponding thinned section 213. A thickness
of each bonding section 212 is the first thickness T1, that is, the
thickness of each bonding section 212 is a range defined by the two
corresponding plate surfaces 211, and each bonding section 212
forms interference fit with the corresponding second inner wall
16.
[0043] Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, each thinned section 213 has
a second thickness T2, and each thinned section 213 is thinner than
the corresponding bonding section 212. That is, the second
thickness T2 is smaller than the first thickness T1. Each thinned
section 213 is formed by thinning from one plate surface 211 to the
other plate surface 211. Each thinned section 213 forms
interference fit with the corresponding first inner wall 15, and
extends to the corresponding second inner wall 16. In a direction
perpendicular to the second inner wall 16, a gap H exists between
each thinned section 213 and the corresponding second inner wall
16. Each thinned section 213 has a first length L1, and each of a
length of each bonding section 212 and a length of interference fit
between each thinned section 213 and the corresponding first inner
wall 15 is about 1/2 of the first length L1.
[0044] Referring to FIGS. 3-5, in a process of assembling the
terminals 20 in the terminal slots 13 from bottom to top, the
contact portions 22 enter the terminal slots 13 at first.
[0045] Then the thinned sections 213 enter. Since the gaps H exist
between the thinned sections 213 and the second inner walls 16 in
the direction perpendicular to the second inner walls 16, the
thinned sections 213 can easily pass through the second inner walls
16 without interference with the second inner walls 16 in an upward
insertion process. When the thinned sections 213 are continued to
be upward inserted and start forming interference with the first
inner walls 15, the bonding sections 212 also start forming
interference with the second inner walls 16. Since the lengths of
interference fit between the thinned sections 213 and the first
inner walls 15 are 1/2 of the first length L1 and the length of
each bonding section 212 is 1/2 of the first length L1,
interference fit between the fixing portions 21 of the whole length
and the retaining slots 14 can be avoided, and external force
required by insertion of the terminals 20 into the terminal slots
13 can be reduced.
[0046] Referring to FIG. 6, a second embodiment of the present
invention is shown, and the difference between the preferred
embodiment and the second embodiment lies in that: the retaining
slots 14 are adjacent to the mating surface 101, where the first
inner walls 15 are farther away from the slot 11 than the second
inner walls 16, and meanwhile, the first inner walls 15 are farther
than the second inner walls 16 away from the mating surface 101.
The terminals 20 are inserted into the terminal slots 13 in a
direction from the mating surface 101 to the mounting surface 102,
the thinned sections 213 are positioned below the bonding sections
212, and the thinned sections 213 are closer to the soldering
portions 23 than the bonding sections 212.
[0047] Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, FIG. 7 shows a structure of
a terminal 20 according to a third embodiment of the present
invention. The thinned sections 213 are formed by face-to-face
thinning from the two plate surfaces 211. Each retaining slot 14 is
provided with the first inner wall 15 and the second inner wall 16
corresponding to each plate surface 211. That is, the thinned
sections 213 are clamped between the two first inner walls 15. The
thinned sections 213 form interference fit with the first inner
walls 15. Meanwhile, the bonding sections 212 are also clamped
between the two second inner walls 16, and the bonding sections 212
form interference fit with the second inner walls 16.
[0048] Referring to FIG. 8, a structure of a terminal 20 according
to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown. The
thinned sections 213 of every two adjacent terminals 20 in the
multiple terminals 20 which are arranged in a row are arranged in a
staggered way. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the thinned sections
213 of one of the two adjacent terminals 20 is formed by thinning
from one plate surface 211 near the slot 11, and the thinned
sections 213 of the other of the two adjacent terminals 20 is
formed by thinning from the other plate surface 211 away from the
slot 11.
[0049] Of course, in other embodiments, the insulating body 10 may
also be provided with only one terminal slot 13, the structure of
the foregoing terminal slot 13 is adopted, and the electrical
connector 100 correspondingly includes one terminal 20 matched with
the terminal slot 13.
[0050] In summary, the electrical connector according to certain
embodiments of the present invention has the following beneficial
advantages:
[0051] 1. The fixing portion 21 has the two relatively parallel
plate surfaces 211, the thickness of the bonding section 212 is the
thickness defined by the two plate surfaces 211, and the thinned
section 213 is formed by thinning from one plate surface 211 to the
other plate surface 211, so that no additional retaining structure
is required to be added to the fixing portion 21 to increase the
thickness thereof. The fixing portion 21 is sequentially provided
with the bonding section 212 and the thinned section 213, the first
inner wall 15 and the second inner wall 16 form the stair-step
shape, the bonding section 212 forms interference fit with the
second inner wall 16, and the thinned section 213 forms
interference fit with the first inner wall 15, so that the fixing
portion 21 and the terminal slot 13 form interference fit at two
positions, and retaining force between the terminal 20 and the
insulating body 10 can be strengthened. The thinned section 213
extends to the second inner wall 16, and in the direction
perpendicular to the second inner wall 16, the gap H exists between
the thinned section 213 and the second inner wall 16, so that
interference fit between the fixing portion 21 of the whole length
and the retaining slots 14 can be avoided, and external force
required by insertion of the terminal 20 into the terminal slot 13
can be reduced.
[0052] 2. The first inner wall 15 is connected with the second
inner wall 16 through the chamfer 17, the first inner wall 15, the
chamfer 17 and the second inner wall 16 are sequentially connected
end to end to form the stair-step shape. The chamfer 17 is arranged
to facilitate insertion of the thinned section 213 into an
upper-end space of the retaining slot 14, thereby forming
interference fit between the thinned section 213 and the first
inner wall 15.
[0053] 3. The outer side edges of the thinned sections 213 and the
bonding sections 212 on the same sides of the fixing portions 21
are arranged to be flush, and in the direction perpendicular to the
second inner walls 16, the thinned sections 213 and the bonding
sections 212 correspondingly form interference fit with the first
inner walls 15 and the second inner walls 16 respectively, so that
it is unnecessary to additionally arrange stabs (not shown) on the
fixing portions 21 in the width direction thereof (i.e., an
arrangement direction of the multiple terminals 20 on the same side
of the slot 11) for interference fit with the retaining slots 14.
By such a structure, the distance between every two adjacent fixing
portions 21 can be increased, the fixing portions 21 can be
prevented from applying excessive acting force on fences (not
labeled) between every two adjacent terminal slots 13 in the width
direction of the fixing portions, and the fences (not labeled) are
unlikely to be damaged in the process of inserting the terminals 20
into the terminal slots 13.
[0054] The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of
the invention has been presented only for the purposes of
illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive
or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many
modifications and variations are possible in light of the above
teaching.
[0055] The embodiments are chosen and described in order to explain
the principles of the invention and their practical application so
as to activate others skilled in the art to utilize the invention
and various embodiments and with various modifications as are
suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments
will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the
present invention pertains without departing from its spirit and
scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined
by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and
the exemplary embodiments described therein.
* * * * *